Final week, I speculated about how the Red Sox might change Dustin May’s arsenal to take him to the next level. My solutions included throwing his four-seam increased, throwing backdoor sinkers, and rising his cutter utilization to righties. As a result of no person else will, I’ll pat myself on the again and be aware that he did two of these three issues on Tuesday in opposition to the Astros. I’ll additionally pat Matt Gross on the again for developing with the headline for this.
Might put in his finest outing of the season on Tuesday night time. He fired six shutout innings, placing out eight and strolling one in opposition to a right-handed-heavy Astros’ lineup.
Via two innings, I used to be frightened that the wheels had been going to fall off for Might. On his first journey via the lineup, he jumped forward of 5 hitters 0-2 or 1-2. Non-competitive pitches and foul balls created a number of six and seven-pitch at-bats, forcing Might to throw 44 pitches via two innings.
After that, he settled in and cruised via the following 4 innings. So, how did he do it?
Towards righties, he continued to make use of his cutter earlier in at-bats. It was his third most-used pitch to right-handed hitters behind his sweeper and sinker, however he didn’t throw it a single time with two strikes. It returned 71% strikes, permitting Might to work from forward within the rely. He additionally used his sinker constantly on the within a part of the plate, jamming righties for foul balls frequently.
As soon as forward, he used his sweeper on the glove facet and excessive fastballs to attempt to punch out hitters. His four-seam wasn’t overly efficient; 4 of eight two-strike four-seams had been fouled off, one went for successful, and one other was effectively above the zone. His sweeper solely returned one strikeout in opposition to lefties, however he saved the ball off the plate and away from hazard.
Towards lefties, he used his sweeper to nice impact. Might threw his sweeper in any rely, getting strikes at an 86% charge. He threw it to the again foot and on the surface edge, for known as strikes and whiffs. Whereas sweepers don’t sometimes carry out effectively in opposition to opposite-handed hitters, Might executed his constantly and saved hitters off steadiness with a mixture of four-seams, sinkers, and cutters behind it.
Video is cooler than phrases [Ed. Note: no it’s not], so let’s see it in motion.
2nd Inning – Taylor Trammell
Might begins Trammell off with a sweeper and will get an early whiff. Trammell was clearly sitting fastball and was fooled by the 0-0 breaking ball.
At 0-1, Might tries to return inside with the sweeper, however misses outdoors. After back-to-back sweepers, he ought to go to one thing else.
He tries to go inside with the four-seam, however misses once more. Whereas this pitch will get a few of the plate, it’s not a disastrous miss. At 96 mph with a flat strategy angle, Sanchez can solely foul it off. Now, with two strikes, Might can throw no matter feels most assured in.
He goes to the sweeper, nevertheless it’s a bit too low to get a swing. I’d throw it once more, however he may not need to repeat the sweeper-sweeper-fastball sequence.
He once more tries to go inside with the four-seam however can’t hit his spot. Trammell fouls it off once more, although the swing tells me this may need labored. It’s an emergency swing, indicating that Trammell was in search of one thing delicate. If he noticed a pitch inside, he may need watched it, assuming it could proceed operating in the direction of him. As an alternative, it stays out, and he will get a bat on it on the final second.
Nice pitch. Might goes again to the sweeper, and Trammell is fooled. It’s dotted within the nook of the zone, and the stuff does the remainder.
4th Inning – Carlos Correa
It is a actually good pitch to start an at-bat. It’s a cutter that lands on the surface edge and is fouled off by Correa. He’s in search of one thing, most likely a sinker, middle-in, however as an alternative will get a cutter. The motion carries it to the surface edge, and he’s shortly down 0-1.
At 0-1, Might hits his spot with the sinker and will get a foul ball. At 0-2, Might can use no matter he feels most assured in. I’d most likely go to the sweeper away, however a backdoor sinker may also work if he’s feeling cheeky.
He tries to go to the sweeper outdoors, however misses on the arm facet. He’s a bit lucky that Correa can solely foul this off. Might can nonetheless throw no matter he needs, however he would possibly need to steer clear of the sweeper with Correa timed up for it.
Excellent. Might does think about executing the sweeper and spots it completely. Correa is in search of one thing else, lunges at it, and rolls right into a double play.
General, I’m nonetheless not completely offered on Might, however I’m extra assured going ahead. He was glorious in opposition to righties, and the strategy seems to be repeatable. Towards lefties, I’m not as offered. As you noticed, he actually needed to struggle with Trammell after going forward 1-2. He’s had stroll points in opposition to lefties up to now, partly as a consequence of his 60% strike charge together with his sweeper. Utilizing the pitch within the zone extra incessantly, as he did tonight (67% zone charge, up from season 45%), will result in extra strikes, however he may additionally see opponents begin looking sweepers. All in, this was good, however I’d wish to see him do it once more earlier than I really feel assured about Dustin Might bump days going ahead.
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